- Address: Khibat Tsiyon St 18, Ramat Gan, Israel;
- Phone: +972 3-618-8243;
- Work time: Mon, Wed. - 10-16, Tues, Thu. - 10-20, Fri. - 09-13 сб. - 10-15, Sun. - closed.
Among the worthy tourist attractions of museums in Israel can be designated the Museum of Russian Art in Ramat Gan . Despite the fact that the area occupied by the building is not large, but the collection located in it includes several dozens of works of Silver Age masters.
What is interesting about the museum?
All the exhibits presented in the museum are a personal collection of Maria and Mikhail Tsetlin, who are known as outstanding figures of Russian culture of the 20th century. They participated in the revolution of 1905, were publishing publishers, but fled from the Bolsheviks, after which they stayed in emigration.
In France, they arranged literary and musical evenings, attended by representatives of Russian emigration, including Ivan Bunin, Sergei Diaghilev, Igor Stravinsky and Alexander Kerensky.
In the late fifties, Maria Tsetlina decided to transfer 95 paintings to Israel. It included her own portrait, which belonged to the brush of Valentin Serov. The collection also included books, letters and documents.
For the collection of paintings it was necessary to equip a special room, which was not yet in the newly formed state. The Mayor of Ramat Gan, Avraham Krinitsa, came to the aid, who promised to allocate a room for the collection in the building of the new city museum. But when the collection arrived in Israel in 1959, it fell not in the promised place, but in the store of fertilizers and tools in the park of Leumi. Because of this, several exhibits were stolen, and some were killed. The museum was opened only in 1996.
Now the collection of the museum has about 80 works, but it does not have the brightest of them - the portrait of Maria Tsetlina, written by Valentin Serov in 1910. The last time the picture was exhibited for the public in 2003 in the Tretyakov Gallery.
In 2014, the famous portrait was sold at a London auction for 14.5 million dollars. Because of this, protests and actions began with an appeal to stop officials. But the municipality of Ramat Gan insisted that the sale of the portrait was a compulsory step in order to receive funds for the construction of a new museum, so the scandalous deal was still held. The new owner of the portrait remained unknown.
The exposition of the museum preserved about 8 dozen items, but exhibited only 15, and according to experts, not the most valuable. Visitors can see watercolor, graphics and theatrical design, as well as scenery and theater costumes.
The Museum of Russian Art consists of one room, which also hosts temporary exhibitions of Russian artists and photographers, so it is often up to the luck of visitors to get to the exhibition of the collection of Maria and Mikhail Tsetlin. The state of the exposition in comparison with the collections presented in other museums in Israel is quite deplorable. This is due to the fact that, due to the small area, most of the items are stored in the warehouse, there are no necessary conditions. In a small room are exhibited for 13-15 paintings, which are constantly changing. The authorities promise to build a new building in the near future. When visiting, it is not allowed to photograph the exhibits, as the museum has a law on copyright protection.
How to get there?
The Museum of Russian Art is located in the center of Ramat Gan , near the local library. You can reach the museum by public transport or taxi.